Evin Lewis and Sherfane Rutherford came up big for the Delhi Bulls who defeated the Deccan Gladiators by eight wickets despite a captain’s knock from Kieron Pollard in the Abu Dhabi T10 tournament today.

Delhi won the toss and put the Gladiators to bat and they were in immediate trouble at 34 for 3 after three overs. However, Pollard came to the rescue smashing 47 from just 18 balls. The Gladiators captain smashed four fours and four sixes that propelled his side to 118 for 7 even as wickets fell at the other end.

Fidel Edwards returned figures of 1 for 34 from his two overs. Dwayne Bravo was slightly more expensive with 1 for 34 from his two. However, the chief destroyers were Ali Khan who took 2 for 4 including Pollard’s wicket and Amad Butt, who returned 2 for 20 from the 10 balls he bowled.

Chasing 119 proved to be child’s play for the Bulls.

Lewis, who smashed 55 from 16 balls against the Maratha Arabians on Saturday, picked up from where he left off, racing to 35 from just 14 balls in a first-wicket stand of 90 with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who bludgeoned the bowling for 47 runs from 20 balls.

Imran Tahir took the wickets of both openers within nine balls as Delhi slumped to 98 for 2, two balls into the seventh over. However, Rutherford ensured there would be no further stumbles smashing two fours and two sixes in his 13-ball knock that sealed victory for Delhi with 11 balls to spare.

West Indies all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, has hailed the role of big-hitting teammates Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard in inspiring a new generation of exciting batsmen.

For decades the Caribbean has created some of the world’s most exciting stroke players, with the likes of Everton Weekes, Gary Sobers, and, later on, Viv Richards and Brian Lara thrilling crowds with their incredible run-scoring ability.

The likes of Pollard, Gayle, and Andre Russell have fallen very much into that mold and a new generation that includes players like Nicholas Pooran, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmeyer, and Brandon King have followed in their footsteps.

The 37-year-old all-rounder Bravo, one of the T20 cricket’s most devastating wicket-takers in his own right, was quick to commend Pollard and Gayle for passing the torch.

 “I think these young guys look up to players like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, what these guys have done in white-ball cricket,” Bravo told Khaleej Times after leading the Delhi Bulls to a win in the Abu Dhabi T10 league on Friday.

“The players from the younger generation now aspire to be like them (Gayle, Pollard) you know. Before them, they had Sir Viv (Richards) or (Brian) Lara and (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul, these players and the likes of Gayle and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan. The young players were looking up to those players,” he added.

“But now because of Pollard, Andre Russell, Gayle, you know, you have seen the likes of Pooran, Heytmayer, Rutherford, and Brandon King.”

Shimron Hetmyer, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell were among West Indies players were retained by their Indian Premier League franchises on Wednesday. However, several others were cut loose and will re-enter the pool of players eligible for the IPL Draft coming up on February 11.

Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite are among several West Indies players who have made themselves available for the Pakistan Super League draft set for January 10, 2021, in Lahore.

Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons were also the players whose names were released on Tuesday by the PSL. They are among 25 international players who will be available for the six-team competition even though some of them will only be available for a part of the season due to a packed international calendar during the February to March window.

Gayle has played previously in the PSL for the Karachi Kings and the Lahore Qalanders.

Other notable players who are in the draft pool include Imran Tahir, Chris Jordan, Chris Lyn, Mohammed Nabi, Alex Hales and Morne Morkel.

The 25 foreign players have been placed in the 'Platinum' category, from which the six franchises will select.